“In the ’82 grand final, I was on the bench and Michael Blake had 16 stitches in his head, as well as a fractured ankle before half-time. I warmed up for 40 minutes, but coach Ray Ritchie at half-time said, ‘Oh no, we won’t put you on, we’ll leave Blake out there.’ He was very tough, Michael. What they were going to do was move Phil Blake into the centres and put me in at halfback, the way it had been for most of the year. It was a tough sport. It still is a very tough sport. They hit harder and stronger and they run faster now, but the ‘80s was very interesting.”

These days Eden is a solicitor, based in Albury. His latest role as far as rugby league is concerned is drafting an application on behalf of the Albury Thunder to play in the NSW Cup. “Hopefully they'll be playing in the 2020 season,” Eden says enthusiastically.

“I’ve met with NSWRL CEO David Trodden and Brian Canavan from the NRL. We now have to convince the Melbourne Storm that it's a good idea to send their feeder players here, rather than to Queensland, or half to Queensland and half here. So hopefully that'll happen in 2020. That's one dream of mine.

(Image via YouTube)

“I'm also the vice-chairman of the professional rugby league match officials body. I'm currently helping to negotiate a new enterprise bargaining agreement with the NRL on behalf of the referees.”

Eden is still very much in love with the game. If you follow him on Twitter you’ll enjoy his memorabilia-based Tweets, where he proudly shares mementos from a tough era – from Manly tracksuits to prized jerseys. It’s his way of sharing his passion for the greatest game of all.

“Those posts aren’t for selfish reasons, I just love the sport,” he beams down the line to us from Albury. ”It IS the greatest game of all and I'm just glad I had a small part to play and was able to play first grade. Anyone who has played even one first grade game … John Rheinberger … unbelievable. Played one run-on first grade match. It happened to be a grand final, where the Roosters won 38-0 against St George. Jack Gibson brought him up from the Under-23s to play one game. And then John Rheinberger retired!

“Look, I love the sport; it’s our game. People criticise players, referees, the administration. But I just love it. People who actually are still involved in our game, whether they’re players, administrators, referees, need to be applauded for doing their best.”

(Image via YouTube)